Egypt unfreezes Habib al-Adly, Zakaria Azmy's funds

CAIRO – 25 May 2019: Egypt’s Ministry of Justice decided to unfreeze the funds of the former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and former presidential chief of staff Zakaria Azmy, who served under ex-president Hosni Mubarak, after both of them have been acquitted of illicit gain charges.

Adly has reportedly requested unfreezing his funds following the unchallengeable acquittal; on May 9, Giza Criminal Court acquitted Adly of charges of embezzling and facilitating embezzlement over LE 2 billion of public funds in the period between 2000 and 2011. Adly and eight other co-defendants, who were also acquitted, were fined
only LE 500 ($29) each.

The court also sentenced Nabil Khalaf, a defendant in the case, to 3 years in prison, obliging him to refund LE 62,120,000 ($3.62 million), and ordered expelling him from his job.

In January 2018, the Court of Cassation revoked a 7-year jail sentence were given in April 2017 against Adly and ordered retrial. The court also sentenced six defendants to five years in prison, and two others to three-year imprisonment in the same trial. The court subsequently ordered compelling Adly and two defendants in the case to refund LE 195,936,000 ($10.9 million). Adly and nine defendants also had to refund 529,000,000 ($29.5 million), according to the earlier ruling of the court.

Also, the Illicit Gain Authority (IGA) also unfrozen the assets of former presidential chief of staff Zakaria Azmy, his wife, and brother-in-law as per a request he submitted after they were acquitted of illicit gains charges in January 2019.